Post by Sir Caelan Munro on Jul 1, 2015 13:00:02 GMT -8

HEAR YE, HEAR YE, Announcing:

Lands of Roawia 2.0!

Welcome to your online Castle-themed LEGO role-playing game! LoR 2.0 will be a continuation of all the great things from LoR 1.0, with some rule changes which will allow for increased opportunities to shape the direction of the game, to include the results of Global Challenges directly impacting which Factions gain certain advantages, and (if so desired) the ability to explore and create new lands in The Great Western Islands.

For those who have been following the last 5 Global Storyline Updates, you know that an adventurer from Lenfald named Abner has discovered an island chain laying many, many leagues somewhere west of Loreos. He has returned and Lenfald will not be able to keep the discovery secret for long, and thus these new lands, the Great Western Islands (GWI), are now wide open for exploration for the brave and enterprising. Come with caution; the dangerous sea voyage is only the beginning, for here there be monsters....

Yet we know that many of our players desire not the long sea voyage, the heat of the jungle, nor to smell the unpleasant breath of that which is about to eat them! So for those who wish to adventure onwards in now ever-changing, restless Roawia, you can do so to your heart's desire. Only beware, for the uncertainty of the times are sure to cause intrigue, conflict, feast and famine, and unfortunately the ugly possiblity of war ever waiting in the shadows to put all in peril.

The times, they are a changing (New Rules):

While this announcement isn't meant to cover all the answers to your questions, there are a few things we can announce right now:

Global Points Reset. As of this announcement, all Faction Points won in previous Global Challenges (GC) are toast. All four Factions now restart at precisely 0, a complete points reset (not to be confused with your Personal Points and titles, which remain the same as they were prior to 2.0). This restart will give all the Factions a chance to start fresh with the new rule set. And Global Points will now matter as certain advantages will be gained from them for the Factions with the highest points.

Multiple Characters. Already discussed, and a few players have already started using two. Both must be in the same Faction for clear record-keeping and unity in loyalties.

Faction Switch. You and your character(s) are now allowed a one-time Faction switch, if desired: For a time period beginning today and ending on August 31, if anyone wishes they can switch to a different Faction, except Lenfald (as Lenfald has been so successful of late, current players may not switch INTO Lenfald). The idea is help achieve 4 balanced Factions for the fresh start. Players are encouraged to switch to the OUTLAWS, but only is so desired. This of course is a onetime open event, after this switch you will be permanent in the new Faction of your choice. You will keep your personal points, but if you have established lands in one faction you cannot transfer them to the new faction, obviously. If you are playing two characters, if you switch Factions both must switch; otherwise the record-keeping would be too difficult. To reassure players, this is voluntary-only. If you like your Faction, you can keep your faction.

LoR Global Storyline Builders: The King's Council (KC) will at times now be selecting from the most able builders of the LoR community to fill in for us in creating MOCs for the global updates. This should be considered an honor, and anyone who is selected and completes a build for the KC can now have the title in their signature block, "Global Storyline Builder" if they so choose. As examples, the last 5 Global Storyline Updates were all built by AardWolf , don leopold is working on something now, both as rewards for their strong showing in GCX. Sir Haymar Glen has also built for the KC prior to GCX. All these types of builds will be in close coordination with the KC's guidance, but neverless the builder will be able to somewhat shape what we are doing. These builds that you create for us will count as 3-to-4-point free-builds, and builders will receive full credit for them. Global Storyline Builders are even able to write the story line draft if they so choose (the KC keeps the right to do some editing if necessary).

Faction Gains from GC Wins. When a Faction wins a GC, they will gain a tangible benefit from it. One example is a lead on gaining more ground in the Great Western Islands. Or say if the Outlaws win, they just siezed a major treasure ship from the losing Faction for that GC. Another example is that the winning Faction would be allowed to influence the story line until the next GC. For example, for a long time now Lenfald has consistently held the highest Global score and, as such, has been rewarded by being the first to discover one of the new islands and lay claim to it. How this will all work exactly, the KC is working out the final details, but we do want to avoid too much record-keeping which could bog down the game. The rules will be layed out clearly at the start of each GC, so players know exactly what's at stake.Our first LoR 2.0 Global Challenge will follow this weekend, but in the meantime, enjoy your new LoR 2.0!Sir Caelan Munro

Post by SpearralSquid on Jul 1, 2015 14:24:09 GMT -8

Aawwwwww yeah! This sounds great! I'm very happy that there aren't too many changes, and I'm cool with the ones there are. I'm totally all for resetting the points, because the positions had barely changed at all since I joined a year and a half ago, and really need a fresh start, especially since the factions seem to be a bit more balanced now. I'm also loving the idea of factions' GC performances affecting the Global Storyline, this should make the game much more interesting. I won't be able to build for a couple more weeks, but when I can it's definitely going to be for LoR.

"Whenever I'm about to do something, I think: 'Would an idiot do that?' and if they would, I do not do that thing." -Dwight Schrute

Post by AK_Brickster on Jul 1, 2015 14:45:03 GMT -8

Just to further add to Sir Caelan's post, there may be more changes coming later on, but we didn't want to overwhelm anyone with a complicated land-grab "battle" system or something like that just yet. This is supposed to be a MOC-building game, and as such, we've tried to keep that intact with this roll-out.

I hope you guys have fun! If you don't want to figure out how to switch your secondary character over to your new faction (should you choose to switch), I think we would allow you to abandon them and take up a new secondary character. This might even help you write a good story during your transition.

Post by SpearralSquid on Jul 1, 2015 15:06:10 GMT -8

glorfindel I think mainly what they are changing is gameplay mechanics instead of cultural advances. I personally enjoy LoR at the technological state it's in(I'm guessing about the equivalent of 1000-1150 AD). I find cultures without muskets and pistols and whatnot to be the type that would put a higher focus on swords, pikes, axes, etc., which are really a staple of combat scenes in LoR builds.

"Whenever I'm about to do something, I think: 'Would an idiot do that?' and if they would, I do not do that thing." -Dwight Schrute